Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has a wide range of applications in medical diagnosis and has become the investigative tool of choice for neurological abnormalities due to its heightened sensitivity for small tumors and ability to offer higher quality tissue visualization. Moreover, MRI provides a sufficient contrast between variations of tissues within the white matter and the gray matter as well as to provide accurate differentiation of many conditions of the brain. However, since MRI forms a strong magnetic field around the area to be imaged, it is necessary for safety and imaging quality to ensure that materials that induce significant susceptibility can be used in the bore of the MRI or the immediate region of the bore.
Notwithstanding the foregoing advances in imaging technology and both frame and frameless stereotactic image guidance techniques, there remains a need for an improved surgical techniques and apparatus for diagnostic and intervention procedures for brain tissue, including mechanisms for holding a surgical access system in place that allows for effective access to the area of interest, can be secured to the patient, while improving accuracy, freeing a surgeon's hand for other procedural activities, and is compatible with imaging technology, especially MRI. Specifically, there is a need for a holding arrangement compatible with MRI to allow use of MRI for diagnostic and interventional capabilities while providing an effective non-distortional imaging environment while being safe for the patient and the clinical staff.